


Flatness: Or, Why Vulcans Read Victorian Fiction

by SweetEdelweiss



Category: Flatland - Edwin A. Abbott, Star Trek, Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: Books
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-15
Updated: 2019-06-15
Packaged: 2020-05-12 03:18:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19220491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetEdelweiss/pseuds/SweetEdelweiss
Summary: Michael Burnham shows Tilly a different gift from her foster mother, Amanda.





	Flatness: Or, Why Vulcans Read Victorian Fiction

     “Wow! Is that- is that a paper book?”

 

     Michael’s ability to suppress a sigh finally failed as her roommate interrupted her for the fifth time during her short unpacking process. Wordlessly, she handed Tilly the book, its embossed Vulcan title gleaming.

 

     Tilly seemed to fumble slightly; paper was clearly heavier than expected. She stared at the title while Michael returned to straightening the bed only to be interrupted. “I, um, I don't actually read Vulcan all that well.” Michael was impressed that she was able to read Vulcan at all. “Flat, wait, um, _Flatness_ ? By - this can’t be right- by _Square_? It’s by a square?”

 

     “It’s a translation of a great English work of fiction. A children’s book. It has been printed to include the original English as well.” She carefully opened to the title page. Michael thought briefly as Tilly examined the printed words. Amanda and Captain Georgiou- Phillipa- both recommended emotion after several facts, else most humans took it as dismissal, though Vulcans saw it as gauche at best. This rule had indeed served her well on the _Shenzhou_ , though she preferred emotional displays to be during off duty hours. Which was now, she supposed. Michael cleared her throat. “It is one of only five works of fiction from English that have been translated into Vulcan. You should be proud to come from the same region.”

 

     Tilly’s face wrinkled in confusion. “ _Flatland_? Never heard of it. I always liked the Alice’s Wonderland vids, is it anything like that?”

 

     “No, it is about logic.”

 

     “Oh.” Tilly’s face fell, and she began to hand the book back. Michael thought desperately of a way to explain the topic better, of her own love for the novel.

 

     “It is about logic, but also perspective. At times, we need to look for a higher logic than is readily available, and for which others function by. Amanda’s ancestor said that from a drop of water, one could use logic to posit accurately a great waterfall, but Amanda, my adopted mother, also says that the task is much easier with a drop than with a mole of gas, and that any proponent of this theory would have already seen a waterfall. Vulcans value it because it is an approachable insight into humanity.”

 

     “And you value it for the same reason?” Tilly’s head had tilted in confusion and she traced a finger over the Vulcan title.

 

     “I value it because it was a gift. And because it shows even logic can be colored by emotion and superstition. Perhaps no being can always see the logic behind  particular action, but it is there, and the truth is there, and sometimes neither is as close as we think.” Michael shuddered, remembering the threatening letters and cool rejections she had received on Vulcan from anti-human separatists and sympathizers. The book itself had been subject to much debate when first translated, especially due to that ending, the perfect logical guide being also emotional and flawed.

     Tilly’s hands were twitching nervously as Michael took the book out of her hands.

 

     “Michael?”

 

     “Yes, Tilly?”

 

     Tilly ducked her head, speaking first to her own shoes then on to the floor. “May I read it? I mean, borrow the book to read your copy? That is, if you're ok with lending it to-”

 

     “Ensign Tilly.”

 

     She glanced up, meeting Michael's eyes. “Yes?”

 

     Michael bowed her own head as she returned the book to Tilly's expectant hands. “It would be my honor.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> I thought of this scene initially when Michael pulled out "Alice in Wonderland". It seemed to me any good Vulcan-trained person would reject it as nonsense. Instead, I would have given her a more obscure but better bridge between the cultures, with a more subtle message than that the world can be topsy-turvy at times.


End file.
